List of all country codes
All international country codes according to ISO-3166 and the corresponding top-level domains are listed below. Use the search function to search for a specific country.
Origin and development of country codes
ISO 3166 was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an independent international non-governmental organization that sets global industry and trade standards. The first versions of ISO 3166 were published in the 1970s with the aim of creating a standardized and simplified method for identifying countries and territories.
Purpose and scope
The main function of the ISO 3166 codes is to provide a short and concise method of representing countries and territories in various international systems. Some of the most common areas of application are
- Internet and IT: The two-character codes are often used as country codes in Internet domains (see paragraph below).
- International logistics: In the freight and forwarding industry, these codes are used to uniquely identify origin and destination.
- Science and statistics: These codes are indispensable for classifying and analyzing international data.
- Banking and finance: In international transactions, these codes are used to identify countries to ensure compliance and security
Country codes as top-level domains
The ISO-3166-1 Alpha-2 country codes, i.e. the two-digit codes, generally correspond to the international country code domains, also known as country codes in top-level domains (ccTLDs) on the Internet. This correspondence was intentionally created to ensure a uniform and easily understandable method for assigning country code top-level domains.
For example:
- The ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 code for Germany is "DE" and the corresponding country domain is ".de".
- For Switzerland, the ISO code is "CH" (for "Confoederatio Helvetica"), which leads to the domain ".ch".
However, there are exceptions where the ISO codes and the country domains do not match. A well-known example is the United Kingdom: the ISO code is "GB", the domain ".uk". Such deviations are often due to historical or cultural reasons. Overall, however, most country domains reflect their ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes.
Special features and challenges
- Political sensitivity
The assignment and modification of codes can be politically sensitive, as they are often linked to issues of state sovereignty and identity. For example, changes to country codes often reflect political developments such as the founding or dissolution of states or territorial changes. - Special cases and exceptions
Some codes are assigned to territories that are not independent states, such as special regions or dependent territories. This sometimes leads to confusion or discussions about the correct classification. - Updating and maintenance
ISO 3166 is regularly revised and updated to reflect changes in the geopolitical landscape. This presents a challenge for systems using these codes as they need to be constantly updated to ensure compliance.
Further links and sources
- ISO 3166 - Official list of all country codes on the International Organization for Standardization website
- Root Zone Database - Official list of all top-level domains on the IANA website